
Nick
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of North Dakota - Bachelors, Psychology
Graduate Degree: Concordia University-Saint Paul - Masters, Special Education
I enjoy playing a variety of sports including soccer, basketball, and golf. I also enjoy running and riding my bike. I also enjoy spending time in the kitchen trying to make new dishes.
3rd Grade Math
4th Grade Math
5th Grade Math
6th Grade
7th Grade Math
Elementary School
Elementary School Math
Homework Support
HSPT Math
HSPT Quantitative
ISEE Prep
Other
Study Skills
Study Skills and Organization
Summer
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
The first session with a student is spent getting to know the student and family. My goal would be to gather some baseline academic data, and learning about personal interests and learning style.
What is your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is believing that all students have the potential to be successful. It's my job to learn what interests each student and to determine how each students learns the best. I believe that getting to know each student and building the relationship is essential to a successful partnership.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I help students become independent learners by helping them experience success early to build their confidence. In addition, I believe in teaching life-long strategies that can be used when nobody is around to help.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I believe in setting short and long-term goals with each student as a strategy to stay motivated. In addition, I work hard to connect all learning to real-world applications so the importance of the learning is clear.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would teach the skill or concept in more than one way. If a student doesn't understand one way of learning the skill, it often helps to try a new strategy.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I help students break up a text into small chunks and check for understanding after each chunk. During a tutoring session, it helps to discuss parts of the text as you go, trying to make connections and determine the main idea.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
It's important to build a relationship at first. I want each student to know who I am, and I want to know each student's interests and learning styles. In addition, goal-setting is an important first step.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I believe that learning should have real-world applications. I work to connect all learning to the real-world.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I ask a lot of questions during tutoring sessions to check for understanding.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I try to have the student experience early success. I believe that experiencing early success builds confidence.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
First I ask the student what he or she thinks their needs are with the content. After that, I like to use some assessments to dig deeper and determine specific needs related to the content.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Once I know the student better, I adapt my style to meet their learning style (verbal, visual, hands-on, etc.).